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Cheryl Bonawitz, Casey Eye Institute

January 2014 Golden Rose Recipient

Submitted by George Harvey, Pharmacy

My grandchild was born with severe eye condition. My daughter and son-in-law had been to various providers with no success. They were told just to come back in 3 months and they would recheck the child. This happened repeatedly over a time span of 2 years.

At my grandchild’s second birthday, I realized that this problem was much worse than we knew and I intervened. I urged my daughter and son-in-law to bring him to OHSU. My grandchild met with Grant Casey and Dr. Daniel Karr. Dr. Karr suggested that my grandchild would need surgery. He had us contact Cheryl to arrange the surgery. Finally, for the family, there was a glimmer of hope that my grandchild would be helped.

Dr. Karr said that he was scheduled a few months out and we would have to arrange the surgery for some time thereafter. Due to insurance issues the surgery needed to happen sooner. We really didn't know what to do. I sent a detailed e-mail to Dr. Karr and Cheryl asking if there is anything they could to help.

Cheryl worked extremely hard to find a place in Dr. Karr's schedule that worked with our timeline. She also needed to find an operating room available and lastly the anesthesiologist. She did it all and the surgery was on the schedule.

My grandson had his surgery and it was a life- changing event for this child. The surgery was a success. I realize that Cheryl probably does this sort of thing each and every day, but I am not sure if she realizes the impact she is having on the patients' lives. By making this surgery happen, she has drastically changed my grandchild’s life forever. For all of this, I will be eternally grateful.